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The Torah: a Women's Commentary

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The Torah: a Women's Commentary STUDY GUIDE The Torah: A Women’s Commentary Parashat Ki Teitzei DEUTERONOMY 21:10-25:19 Study Guide written by Rabbi Stephanie Bernstein Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Dr. Lisa D. Grant, and Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, Ph.D., editors Rabbi Hara E. Person, series editor Parashat Ki Teitzei Study Guide Themes Theme 1: Building a Just Society in the Promised Land—It’s All in the Family Theme 2: You Are With Whom You Mate—Regulating Sexual Relations in the Promised Land INTRODUCTION uilding the ideal Israelite society is an overriding concern of BDeuteronomy. The civil, criminal, and family laws in Deuteronomy address relationships within households, among neighbors, and between the vulnerable in society and those more fortunate. While the laws in Shof’tim, the preceding parashah, address public officials, the laws in this parashah focus on what could be seen as private family matters. The prominence of laws concerning the lesser-loved wife, the punishment of wayward children, and the regulation of sexual behavior indicate that such seemingly private matters concern society as a whole. Public legislation governing these matters demonstrates the Biblical author’s concern with building a balanced society in which all individuals are governed by the community and its laws. Laws concerning women are prominent in this parashah, including the proper treatment of captive women, forced sex, divorce, and accusations of non-virginity. This reflects the belief that because the family unit is the basis of society, a woman’s position and status in the family unit are critical. BEFORE GETTING STARTED Before turning to the biblical text and the questions presented below, use the introductory material in The Torah: A Women’s Commentary to provide an overview of the parashah as a whole. Draw attention to a few key quotations from the introduction to the Central Commentary on pages 1165–66 and/or survey the outline on page 1166. This will help you highlight some of the main themes in this parashah and give participants a context for the sections they will study within the larger portion. Also, remember that when the study guide asks you to read 1 biblical text, take the time to examine the associated comments in the Central Commentary. This will help you answer questions and gain a deeper understanding of the biblical text. THEME 1: BUILdiNG A JUST SOCIETY IN THE PROMisED LAND —IT’S ALL IN THE FAMILY In ancient Israel the family unit, or household, formed the basis of society. The laws pertaining to families in Ki Teitzei reflect the view that what occurs within a family has an impact on the community at large. For this reason, a variety of matters such as the treatment of captive women who might become part of the community through marriage, the status of heirs of loved and unloved wives and of an incorrigible son, as well as rules concerning divorce and remarriage are all legitimate subjects for public legislation. 1. Read Deuteronomy 21:10–14, which outlines the laws for marrying a woman who is a prisoner of war. a. According to these verses, what actions should an Israelite warrior take if he wants to marry a female captive? How do these instructions differ from the prohibitions in Deuteronomy 7:1–4, which prohibit marriage to female captives? According to the Central Commentary, what can we learn from the differences between these two passages? b. Deuteronomy 21:11 describes the captive woman as “beautiful.” What is significant about this description? c. What is the purpose of the actions the captive woman must take (vv. 12–13)? What is the relationship between these actions and the month the woman must spend “lamenting her father and mother” (v. 13)? Why do you think these actions must take place before the Israelite soldier can marry the captive woman? How do you imagine a captive woman might feel in this situation? d. The Hebrew innah (“had your will of her”) in verse 14 can mean to debase a woman by having sex with her outside of a regularly contracted marriage. How does this phrase help you to understand why the man must free his foreign wife should he reject her? What is the reason for this command? 2. Read Deuteronomy 21:15–17, which describes laws regarding the heirs of loved and unloved wives. a. What family problems might arise from the fact that a man can have more than one wife and may have children with each wife? b. Who are these laws designed to protect and why? c. According to the Central Commentary, what is the significance of a child being designated his father’s heir in the Bible? 2 d. The words that describe the two wives in verse 15 (“one loved and the other unloved”) also describe the situation of Rachel and Leah in Genesis 29:30–31. How does this comparison help you to understand the situation in Deuteronomy 21:15–17? 3. Read Deuteronomy 21:18–21, which describes the rules for handling an incorrigible son. a. The Hebrew phrase soreir u’moreh in verse 18 (translated here as “wayward and defiant”) can also be translated as “stubborn and rebellious.” What does this suggest to you about the kind of behavior to which the text refers? b. What challenges does this kind of behavior present to the “householder” (v. 18)? What are the dangers of this kind of behavior to society? c. In your view, why are both the father and mother responsible for the son’s discipline? 4. Read Deuteronomy 24:1–5, which describes laws regarding divorce, remarriage, and prolonging a couple’s “honeymoon.” a. Verse 1 does not specify the valid conditions for divorce. The idiom in this verse, translated as “something obnoxious,” also appears in 23:15, where it is translated as “anything unseemly.” What can we learn about the conditions for divorce, based on how the idiom is used in these verses? b. The technical language for divorce (“sends her away”) in 24:1 contrasts with the language for marriage in the Bible (“takes her as a wife”). How do these two terms help you to understand what happens to a woman when her husband divorces her? c. What do we learn from verse 4 about the reason that the first husband may not take his former wife back if her second husband divorces her or if she becomes a widow? In your view, what kinds of concerns does this law seek to address? d. According to the Central Commentary on verse 1, what do we know about who was able to initiate divorce in Jewish marriages? e. What is the purpose of a householder’s year-long exemption from army service (v. 5)? How do you understand the purpose of this exemption? 5. Read the Another View section by Diana Lipton (p. 1185). a. According to Lipton, what is the real concern of Deuteronomy 24:1–4? b. Lipton points out that if the intent of the law in this passage is to prohibit remarriage to the same wife, then it was not necessary to include the clause about a new husband. According to Lipton, how might the new husband clause create a measure of autonomy for the woman? c. How does Jeremiah’s image of the metaphorical marriage between God and 3 Israel help us understand the possible reasons that the male authors of this text might have legislated female autonomy? How does this view allow Israel to maintain some degree of autonomy in the relationship with God? 6. Read Post-biblical Interpretations by Dvora E. Weisberg on pages 1185–86 (“If a householder has a wayward and defiant son” and “he writes her a bill of divorcement... and sends her away”). a. In what ways did the Rabbis restrict the law of the rebellious son? What is the impact of the restrictions on this law? In your view, why did the Rabbis take these actions? b. According to the Rabbis, on what grounds could a man divorce his wife? How do the Rabbis use Deuteronomy 24:1 as a basis for these grounds? c. According to Exodus 21:10–11, to what is a married woman entitled from her husband, and what is her recourse if she does not receive it? What do Jewish marriage contracts from the Second Temple period and the early medieval period in the Levant tell us about who could initiate divorce? d. What recourse is available to an unhappy wife, according to the Mishnah? How did the view that a woman could initiate a divorce change over time? 7. Read “The Passage of Divorce: Paving One’s Way” by Vicki Hollander, in Voices (p. 1189). a. To what does the poet compare the experience of divorce? How do the physical images she uses to describe divorce help you to understand her feelings? b. What is the relationship, in your view, between the images of the earth shifting and divorce? c. Hollander’s poem is written from the perspective of a woman going through a divorce. The biblical text (Deuteronomy 24:1) states that the householder who wants to divorce his wife “writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house.” How does Hollander’s poem help you imagine what such a wife might feel? d. If you have experienced divorce yourself or watched someone close to you go through a divorce, how do you relate to the poet’s description of her divorce? What metaphor would you use to depict the experience of divorce? THEME 2: YOU ARE WITH WHOM YOU MATE—REGULATING SEXUAL RELATIONS IN THE PROMisED LAND The laws regarding sexual relations in this parashah highlight the importance of women in the family unit and reflect a concern with the sexual status of women as wives or potential wives.
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